California is potentially poised to sink into an unimaginable bad dream.
It is one in which politicians and lawmakers are currently taking delight at the thought of voters signing on to a ballot proposition this November, which would amend the California Constitution so abortions would have absolutely no limitations.
Feelings on the part of a lot of average everyday Californians who are aware of what is being proposed are those of shock and revulsion. But there is also a high degree of fear that too many of their fellow residents aren’t sharing their same feelings.
California’s Proposition 1 seeks to permit the lives of babies in the womb to be terminated right up to the moment of birth.
Abortion procedures would be allowed to be conducted during any stage of pregnancy, regardless of whether or not a mother’s life was in danger. Furthermore, abortions would be able to be carried out on infants who, in other more welcoming circumstances, would be duly capable of surviving outside of the womb.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced plans for a billboard campaign that is to be conducted in states where abortion is more restrictive.
Well, the billboard campaign appears to be moving ahead.
He reportedly plans to use a portion of his re-election campaign funds to buy billboard space in the states of Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
Some life-denying billboards display a pro-abortion invitation of sorts, accompanied by a Bible verse from Mark 12:31, which reads: “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”
The governor also took to Twitter to spread the unholy message, with several Republican governors being tagged, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. His tweet read in part, “To any woman seeking an abortion in these anti-freedom states: CA will defend your right to make decisions about your health.”
Christians across the country who have been affected by the billboard messaging are understandably offended.
Thankfully, two prominent religious leaders have courageously entered the public square to help enlighten folks on issues relating to the matter.
John MacArthur, author, televangelist and pastor of a non-denominational Southern California mega-church, expressed concern over the governor’s soul and took him to task for “shamelessly” misquoting the Bible for political purposes.
The pastor pulled no punches in his open letter to the governor.
Utilizing passages from Scripture in his response, Pastor MacArthur noted that the governor had “…compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants.”
Pastor MacArthur's letter additionally shed light on what he characterized as the “diabolical effect” of the governor’s policies that have tarnished the once-Golden State and contributed to “California’s epidemics of crime, homelessness, sexual perversions, and other malignant expressions of human misery that stem directly from corrupt public policy.”
The pastor concluded with assurances that prayers were forthcoming from “countless Christians nationwide.”
Another prominent California religious leader has also spoken out in defense of human life and against the life-destroying policies and politics that state leaders are pursuing.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has been a consistent voice for the rights of the unborn. His Excellency recently spoke to the media and also penned a letter to the archdiocese, asking parishioners to vote “No” on Proposition 1.
In an interview, Archbishop Cordileone noted that the proposition, as written, “would seem to allow abortion in all nine months of pregnancy up to birth. But it ignores that once conception has taken place, reproduction has already happened.”
Under existing California law, there are no limitations on abortions performed during the first six months of pregnancy.
However, should Proposition 1 pass, the life-ending practice, currently permitted during the third trimester of pregnancy only if there is a threat to the life or health of the mother, would be expanded, thereby eliminating even the nominal safety provisions that are currently in place for pre-born babies who are in the womb for the full term.
With regard to the governor’s claim that he wants the state to be an “abortion sanctuary,” Archbishop Cordileone pointed out, “The irony is that a sanctuary is designed to protect life, whereas these measures harm it.”
His Excellency indicated that the anti-life policy being pushed by California “furthers the mentality that pregnancy is an inconvenience and that abortion is the only option a woman has.”
The archbishop further noted that the state appears to have an ample supply of taxpayer money to pay for abortions “but no money for crisis pregnancy centers, which can help a woman to have her child.”
Archbishop Cordileone asked those who are pushing abortion the following questions: “Why are you limiting a woman’s rights? If it is okay to have an abortion a day before a baby is born, why not the day after? Why not a month later, or six months or a year? Why can’t a young mother, after having a baby and raising that child for six months say, ‘I can’t do this. It is too hard,’ and be allowed to kill that child?”
“Laws need to be grounded in sound reasoning, that human life begins at conception and must be protected,” the archbishop explained.
Science has long settled the principle that at the moment of fertilization a new life is created, which has unique genetic attributes. Therefore, as the archbishop stated, “It can never be right to procure an abortion, just as it would never be right to kill a newborn baby.”
On a scriptural note, both Pastor MacArthur and Archbishop Cordileone reminded those who have ears to hear about a pagan entity from the Old Testament. Some of the ancient Israelites fell into the worship of false gods, which included sacrificing children to a pagan deity of a neighboring nation, Molech.
Pastor MacArthur invoked the Old Testament, writing that the governor had “used the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech (Leviticus 20:1–5).”
“It would be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege,” the pastor commented.
Archbishop Cordileone quoted Psalm 106: “They worshipped those nation’s false gods, till they found themselves entrapped, and sacrificed their own sons and their daughters to demons.”
His Excellency cited a passage from the Old Testament (Leviticus 18:21), “You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.”
Best to heed our religious leaders’ words. If we don’t, California’s bad dream will become America’s nightmare.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read James Hirsen's Reports — More Here.
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